Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice, sandhoppers), some are parasitic (e.g. Rhizocephala, fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record, reaching back to the Cambrian. More than 7.9 million tons of crustaceans per year are harvested by fishery or farming for human consumption, consisting mostly of shrimp and prawns. Krill and copepods are not as widely fished, but may be the animals with the greatest biomass on the planet, and form a vital part of the food chain. The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology (alternatively, malacostracology, crustaceology or crustalogy), and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist.

The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into three regions: the cephalon or head, the pereon or thorax, and the pleon or abdomen. The head and thorax may be fused together to form a cephalothorax, which may be covered by a single large carapace. The crustacean body is protected by the hard exoskeleton, which must be moulted for the animal to grow. The shell around each somite can be divided into a dorsal tergum, ventral sternum and a lateral pleuron. Various parts of the exoskeleton may be fused together.

The name "crustacean" dates from the earliest works to describe the animals, including those of Pierre Belon and Guillaume Rondelet, but the name was not used by some later authors, including Carl Linnaeus, who included crustaceans among the "Aptera" in his Systema Naturae. The earliest nomenclatural valid work to use the name "Crustacea" was Morten Thrane Brünnich's Zoologiæ Fundamenta in 1772, although he also included chelicerates in the group.

The traditional classification of Crustacea based on morphology recognised four to six classes. Bowman and Abele (1982) recognised 652 extant families and 38 orders, organised into six classes: Branchiopoda, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Maxillopoda, Ostracoda, and Malacostraca. Martin and Davis (2001) updated this classification, retaining the six classes but including 849 extant families in 42 orders. Despite outlining the evidence that Maxillopoda was non-monophyletic, they retained it as one of the six classes, although did suggest that Maxillipoda could be replaced by elevating its subclasses to classes. Since then phylogenetic studies have confirmed the polyphyly of Maxillopoda and the paraphyletic nature of Crustacea with respect to Hexapoda. Recent classifications recognise ten to twelve classes in Crustacea or Pancrustacea, with several former maxillopod subclasses now recognised as classes (e.g. Thecostraca, Tantulocarida, Mystacocarida, Copepoda, Branchiura and Pentastomida).

Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and nearly 10,700,000 tons were harvested in 2007; the vast majority of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, langoustine and prawns. Over 60% by weight of all crustaceans caught for consumption are shrimp and prawns, and nearly 80% is produced in Asia, with China alone producing nearly half the world's total. Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet. Krill are, however, a speciality in China and Japan and are used pickled in Korea. They are also consumed in Artic regions and are being introduced to new consumers as fusion recipes using frozen and tinned krill. Gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes) are a speciality of Spanish cuisine (recipes including krill and gooseneck barnacles can be found in the links below). The Pacific goose barnacle, Pollicipes elegans is also consumed, particularly in Alaska. The Japanese goose barnacle, Capitulum mitella is eaten in Japan. The Chilean giant barnacle or picoroco (Austromegabalanus psittacus) is routinely fished for food. Woodlice are sometimes consumed by foragers. Dried prawns (locally known as crawfish) are used as a flavouring and thickener in West African stews.

The alphabetical list of all the Crustacean-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 633 recipes in total:

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Dominica Crab Callaloo      Origin: Dominica	Fish Sausages      Origin: Scotland	Haiken (Chicken and Prawn Egg Rolls)      Origin: Mauritius
Dominica Curry Prawns      Origin: Dominica	Fisk och paprikasoppa (Fish and Bell Pepper Soup)      Origin: Sweden	Hami (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Tonga
Dongo (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Congo	Flancitos      Origin: Chile	Herb and Garlic Prawns      Origin: Britain
Dressed Crab      Origin: Canada	Folon      Origin: Cameroon	Honey-glazed Prawns      Origin: Roman
Dublin Lawyer      Origin: Scotland	Foufou de Banane à la Sauce Claire (Plantain Fufu with Clear Sauce)      Origin: Mali	Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls      Origin: Hong Kong
Dulse-dressed Prawns      Origin: Ireland	French Coconut Fish Curry      Origin: France	Ikan Assam Pedas (Hot-and-sour Fish Stew)      Origin: Malaysia
East African Prawn Curry      Origin: East Africa	Fricassé de ouassous (Fricassée of Freshwater Prawns)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Ila Alasepo (Okra and Spinach Soup)      Origin: Nigeria
East African Shrimp Curry      Origin: East Africa	Fried Ata Sauce      Origin: Nigeria	In Locusta Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Lobster)      Origin: Roman
Ecrevisses au Curry (Crayfish Curry)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Fried Brinjal Sambal      Origin: Myanmar	Inarizushi (Inari Sushi)      Origin: Japan
Edikang Ikong Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Malaysia	Indonesian Peanut Sauce      Origin: Indonesia
Editan Soup II      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Christmas Island	Isicia de Cauda Eius sic Facies (Make Lobster Tail Forcemeat Balls Thus)      Origin: Roman
Efere Usung Udia      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Cocos Islands	Isicia de scillis (Prawn Rissole)      Origin: Roman
Efo Riro      Origin: Nigeria	Fu Yung Hai (Eggs Fu Yung)      Origin: China	Isicia Marina (Seafood Patties)      Origin: Roman
Efo-riro (Vegetable Stew)      Origin: Nigeria	Fukusazushi      Origin: Japan	Isso Vade      Origin: Sri Lanka
Egusi Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Gaeng Pa (Jungle Curry Paste)      Origin: Thailand	Iwuk Efere      Origin: Nigeria
Ekoki      Origin: Cameroon	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Jamaican Jerk Shirmp      Origin: Jamaica
Ekpang Nkukwo      Origin: Nigeria	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Jamaican Prawn Curry      Origin: Jamaica
Ekpang Nkukwo (Cocoyam Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Orange Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Jamaican Rum Prawns      Origin: Jamaica
Ekuru with Ata Sauce (Steamed Savoury Beans with Ata Sauce)      Origin: Nigeria	Galician-style Goose Barnacles      Origin: Spain	Jamaican Seafood Soup      Origin: Jamaica
Empanadas fritas de mariscos (Fried Seafood Empanadas)      Origin: Easter Island	Gambas ou langoustines au pastis (Prawns or Langoustines with Pastis)      Origin: Monaco	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Bonaire
Eog Gyda Saws Corgimychiaid (Salmon with Prawn Sauce)      Origin: Welsh	Gambian-style Okro Soup      Origin: Gambia	Jambo (Okra Soup)      Origin: Curacao
Eru avec Garri (Eru with Garri)      Origin: Cameroon	Garden Eggs Stew      Origin: Ghana	Javaanse Bami      Origin: Suriname
Ewa Dodo (Black-eyed peas with Plantains)      Origin: Niger	Gari aux Crevettes (Gari with Prawns)      Origin: Cameroon	Jungle Curry Prawns      Origin: Thailand
Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Tahiti	Gari Foto      Origin: Ghana	Kaeng Khiao Wan (Thai Green Curry)      Origin: Thailand
Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Wallis Futuna	Gbékui (Spinach Sauce)      Origin: Togo	Kaeng Phet Pet Yang (Thai Red Roast Duck Curry)      Origin: Thailand
Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Austral Islands	Gbegiri (Bean Stew)      Origin: Nigeria	Kajaik (Sudanese fish stew)      Origin: South Sudan
Fermented Krill/Shrimp Paste      Origin: Japan	Ginger Prawns with Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: China	Kakrar Jhal (Bengali Crab Curry)      Origin: India
Feuilles de Manioc Malienne (Malian Cassava Leaf Stew)      Origin: Mali	Goan Crab Claw Curry      Origin: India	Kansiyé avec 'Mafe' (Smoked Chicken in Peanut Sauce with Mashed Plantains)      Origin: Guinea
Fijian Crab Curry      Origin: Fiji	Goat Meat Pepper Soup with Calabash Nutmeg      Origin: Nigeria	Kare Kare      Origin: Philippines
Filé Gumbo      Origin: Louisiana	Gratin de fruits de mer (Seafood Gratin)      Origin: Monaco	Kari Ikan (Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia
Filipino Fish Curry      Origin: Philippines	Gratin de galettes aux crevettes (Gratin of Pancakes with Prawns and Mushrooms)      Origin: France	Kari Ikan (Malaysian Fish Curry)      Origin: Malaysia
Fish Creole      Origin: Louisiana	Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Federated States Micronesia	Kari Koko (Seychellois King Prawn and Coconut Curry)      Origin: Seychelles
Fish Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Tuvalu
Fish Pie with Dulse      Origin: Scotland	Guyanese Crab Callaloo      Origin: Guyana

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